Graduate Assistants (GAs) & GSAS Professional Experience (GPE) Fellow

Hilal Zoberi (GA)

Yale School of Public Health ‘26: Master in Public Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences Department

Why AACC? My hope to meet as any people as I can during my time here at Yale!

What are your hobbies? Travel (local, domestic, and international!), Coffee, Lifting Weights, and Islamic History

What are your favorite New Haven restaurant? Modern Apizza

I am so excited to be at the AACC! I am a first-year student at Yale School of Public Health pursuing my MPH. I am fresh off of my undergraduate degree at Northeastern University in Boston where I studied Health Science with two minors in Sociology and Global Health. Looking forward, I have aspirations to go to medical school and become a physician. If you see me on campus or at the AACC, please do not be shy! I hope to see you all at our events.

Kiswa Rahman (GA)

Kiswa Rahman

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Yale School of Public Health ‘25: Master of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences with U.S. Health Justice Concentration)

Why AACC? I am drawn to the AACC because of the unique nature of the physical space to complement the ever-present community that comes with a shared Asian identity. At the AACC, I am excited to be a part of building community and supporting the Asian and Asian American identity by cultivating spaces for people to learn not only about their history but also celebrate the history of others. I look forward to contributing to and learning from the vibrant community at the AACC and supporting the important work around this community’s historical, cultural, and social aspects while also tapping into my Pakistani heritage!

What are your hobbies? Film photography, knitting, textile art

What are your favorite artists/bands? Raveena, Coco & Clair Clair, Atif Aslam, & The Spider-Verse Soundtrack

Kiswa Rahman is a graduate student at the Yale School of Public Health focusing on Social and Behavioral Sciences and U.S. Health Justice. She is particularly interested in colonialism’s various impacts on modern public health crises. Kiswa is originally from the greater Seattle area and deeply enjoys the outdoors. She loves to lounge around by the water, work on one of her endless craft projects, or watch the same handful of movies on repeat.

Xuechen Yu (GA)

Xuechen Yu

Pronouns: she/her

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences ‘25: Biostatistics

Why AACC? The warm and welcoming community that values diversity and inclusion.

What is your favorite food? Yangzhou fried rice

What is your favorite movie/TV show? Westworld

Hi, my name is Xuechen Yu. I am a graduate student at the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. I am from Yangzhou, China. I have lived in Singapore and have been in the U.S. since my undergraduate years. I love writing, playing video games, and traveling.

Karis Ryu (GPE Fellow)

Karis Ryu

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences ‘29: PhD student in the Department of Religious Studies

Why AACC? To engage with the legacy and movement of Asian American studies broadly and locally, and to join and make community.

What is your favorite book? A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

What is your favorite campus study spot? RITM Writing Wednesdays

Karis is a PhD student in the Department of Religious Studies, also pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration. She is interested in race, religion, militarism, and power, especially how they shape the construction of Asian American selfhoods, through archival, ethnographic, and literary methods. She grew up as a U.S. military child and also tells stories by writing fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She’s excited to meet students and talk about any and all things literature, research, resistance, art, and creativity.